Thanksgiving Weekend

This past weekend was a great one. For the first time in our marriage Eric took the day after Thanksgiving off, so we had that to look forward to along with lots of fun family time!

We started off on Wednesday when Emma's cousin Timothy came over for a sleepover. Emma was so excited about it that for several days before hand she would tell everyone she came into contact with. We had an early dinner of pizza and root beer (the kids were in heaven) so that we could get started on all our other activities.

We had a couple of pumpkins that we wanted to carve for Thanksgiving, just because we thought it would be fun. One of the pumpkins was VERY ripe, and didn't work very well. The other one seemed fine, although by the next day it was quite shriveled.After the pumpkin was carved, we made some cookies. I didn't feel like really making cookies with the kids (I do with Emma all the time, but I didn't want to take up too much time on just one activity) so I had bought some of those sugar cookies with a picture on them that you only need to transfer to a cookie sheet. The kids did that and then started a movie while the cookies baked.They wanted to watch Finding Nemo, and so needed to run get all their Nemo friends to watch with them. Timothy had brought Squirt, so they ran into Emma's room and got Nemo, Dory, and Bruce.
I asked them if they wanted popcorn or cookies while they watched, and they said, "How about both?" Well, normally that wouldn't work, but for a special occasion like a sleepover I caved. They each ended up having 8 cookies and shared the batch of popcorn while drinking more root beer of course!Being a member of this family means lots of game nights, and these kids fit right in. They wanted to play some games, so we introduced Timothy to Emma's snowman game. He seemed to like it.
After the games we made some Pilgrim Hat treats. I made them last year with Emma and they are really cute and easy. I didn't take a picture of them (I just forgot) but here's a picture of what they look like when they're done.
After some more games and a bath for Emma it was time for bed. The kids had so much fun! I think they wore themselves out because they fell asleep fairly quickly.

In the morning they wanted eggs and bacon for breakfast. They finished the bacon before I could take a picture!
Around noon we headed over to my mom's house, where the games were already beginning. We ate around 3:00, and the food was all delicious! The rest of the day was more fun and games. The kids played some games and watched a couple movies. It was a nice and relaxing day.
We are not early risers on Black Friday. Nothing is worth getting up and fighting the ravenous crowds to me. Instead, we had a relaxing morning and went to a couple stores in the afternoon. That evening some family came over to play the Wii with us.

Saturday was great too. A little more shopping after which we watched the Utah/BYU game with my family. It was disappointing that the U lost, but it was more disappointing that the Refs were terrible, and that Max Hall decided to forget that he represents the Church to the world and give that horrible hate filled speech. My brother has had food and drinks thrown on him by BYU fans, but he doesn't hate the school or the students. He still doesn't want them to beat the U, but that's because it's supposed to be a friendly rivalry. Oh well, hopefully future BYU players will try harder to show good sportsmanship and Christlike attitudes so as to make their fans proud of them, and to represent the Church to the world better.

Sunday is always a great day, and today is the first Advent Sunday. It was fun to light the candle on our wreath with Emma. She loves looking at our tree and singing the Christmas songs. I'm looking forward to a fun season with her.

A New Do

I've thought about getting Emma's hair cut for a few weeks, but just haven't been sure I wanted to. I finally decided to just do it, and hoped that it would make her hair look thicker and that she and I would both like it. I mentioned it to Emma, and she was really excited and couldn't wait for her appointment. It went fine, and now I can't believe I didn't do it sooner. I LOVE IT!!! It's so cute. Emma loves it too, and it seems to fit her personality really well.

Christmas Tree Topper

Not to jump the gun and bypass Thanksgiving, but as I plan out this next week and think about putting up Christmas decorations next weekend, I think I've found the perfect angel to top our tree...I just need to get her up there somehow...

Taken by Surprise

I quite often find myself in a deep set routine. You know, the morning ritual, fairly similar breakfasts and lunches, the same activities with Emma, etc. And it's not bad, so this isn't a complaint of mine. It just makes the more unique things stand out. It makes the extra special meal or activity seem that much more special when it comes around, or whatever else we do that is somewhat out of the ordinary.

My favorite thing about Emma (and I'm sure this goes for all kids) is that no matter what is going on around her she always seems fresh and new to me. She is constantly changing. And she surprises me all the time with things she'll say or do. I just love it! I'm sure this is just part of being a kid and growing up, but it's amazing to observe it and be there for her journey.

The most recent thing she said to me that took me by surprise was a word I didn't know she knew. As it's not in my daily vocabulary I'm not sure where she learned it. She came up to me and said, "I have a hypothesis; an idea you can test." She proceeded to tell me her idea, but I couldn't get over her having said that to me. I was so thoroughly amused by it and am still smiling a couple days later because of it.

You'll excuse my bias, but Emma's the best! I just love everything about her and don't know what I ever did to deserve her. And this is just a silly little thing, but that's what I love about her. There are so many cute or silly endearing things about her. She really is my greatest treasure.

Sick Activities

Uh, that's sick as in ill, not disgusting. =) I'm amazed at how resilient kids are. Even while being very sick Emma continued to shine with her beautiful smile always on her face. She spent quite a while playing quietly (both as a chance for her body to rest, but also so I could let mine rest a little and get better myself), and always seemed so happy to do it. One of her favorite things to do was to try to make several silly potato heads. Here she is with her creations.

Halloween

Since Emma and I were sick we didn't do much to celebrate this week. I had a lot of plans that I had to let go of. It really wasn't a good week to be sick. Oh well. Emma still had fun. And luckily she didn't get sick until almost the end of the week, so she didn't even miss preschool.

We didn't end up carving a pumpkin with Emma until Saturday morning, but it was so much fun. I layed on the couch (pretending not to be sick) while Eric helped Emma. She didn't need much help though. She drew the face on the pumpkin and then actually carved it out herself. Eric helped get the pieces out of the pumpkin, but that was pretty much it (he did carve the mouth for her - she was tired by that point). I loved the way it turned out, and the mouth is my favorite part. It just looks like one of her drawings.


We went to trick or treating at my parents house and then went up their street. We then met up with my brother and let Emma do a few houses with her cousins. On our way home we stopped by my sisters house, but that was it. With her still a little under the weather we didn't want to keep her out very long, but she still got quite a lot of candy. She was telling us she was tired and that she had enough by the end of the evening. So funny.

Along the way we saw a cool ghost that someone had rigged. It was moving, so the picture turned out a little blurry, but that almost makes it better.
Emma loved being Dorothy (I was so happy I finished the costume enough for her to wear), and had fun with her cousins Princess Leia and a dinosaur. I don't know what it is, but I just love Halloween. It seems so magical and fun. I can't wait until next year!

Preschool Program

On Wednesday last week Emma had her fall program at her preschool. All the parents came to see them sing several adorable songs about some of the things they’ve been talking about so far this year. It was mostly a Halloween thing, but other topics included squirrels, owls and Christopher Columbus.

I had been sick for a couple days already by Wednesday, and my mind was working even less efficiently than normal. Eric got off work early and met me there just before it started. Not all the dads were able to be there understandably, but I’m so happy Eric was. Especially with the realization I had mere moments before the first song. I looked around and all the parents were grabbing out their cameras or video cameras, and it dawned on me that I had completely forgotten to bring ours. We only have 3 cameras. You’d think I would’ve grabbed one of them, but no. I even forgot the video camera Eric had charged the night before. I seriously wanted to cry. I tried thinking of some reason to give the mom sitting next to me to convince her that I needed and wanted pictures of my child more than she did of hers, but nothing came. And apparently no one was thoughtful enough to bring an extra camera. How rude. Stupid parents with their stupid cameras being all prepared. AHHH! I felt just awful.

I don’t think Emma’s ever smiled quite so cute or been quite so excited. Of course that’s probably not true, but you know the way the mind works. I sat there and thoroughly enjoyed every moment of that program and tried to soak in every detail because I knew I would never get to enjoy it again. (Here’s the part where you’re supposed to reach for a tissue and dab your eyes).

We sat right in the front directly across from Emma. She was so thrilled to have us both there and did such a good job. She is such an awesome singer, and she sang so well. She was so proud to use the props they’d made and show us the crafts for the songs. And she tried so hard to scare us during a couple of the Halloween songs. Oh, it was wonderful. And all we have to remember it is a few pictures that Eric took on his camera phone. I felt so lame sitting there amongst all the other parents with their nice cameras and us using a cell phone. I felt like I wanted to turn to everyone and heavy with sarcasm say, “Yes, a cell phone is our device of choice to document our child’s life with. Why choose quality when you can choose convenience?” I didn’t know if I should laugh or cry. It was ridiculous. Luckily Emma didn’t seem to notice. Her heart was simply bursting with excitement and joy. It was wonderful to see, and hopefully I’ll remember all the details for a long time. And with such high quality pictures like these, I'll need all the help I can get.

These are supposed to be owl masks (you know, just in case you couldn't tell).

Colorado

Last weekend Emma and I went to Colorado to visit my sister-in-law and her family. I wanted some girl time with her and it was fun letting Emma play with her cousins. She doesn’t get to see them very often, so it was nice. For being such a quick trip we managed to squeeze a lot in.

On Friday morning after Emma and I finally got going (we didn’t arrive until almost midnight the night before) we went to the library with the kids. They had fun looking at books and playing with the toys. They even put on a puppet show for us.
Grandma took Emma and Tyler to see Toy Story in 3D while Steph, Brayden & I had lunch and did some shopping. Lunch was yummy (you can't beat Red Robin! And their lunch special was awesome!!) and of course we found way more cute stuff than we could possibly buy (including what I think will be the best white elephant gift of the season).

We went to Grandma and Grandpa’s house afterwards so the kids could keep playing, and we had dinner with Great Grandma and Great Grandpa. I think the kids' favorite part of dinner was trying to add more cheese to their dish themselves. They kept wanting to try it. Very entertaining.
On Saturday we decided we’d go to the zoo. While eating lunch a squirrel kept trying to steal food from us, and succeeded in taking a banana peel. The kids raced and investigated the animals as long as we’d let them. But we had to get home to make apple pie and pizzas.

I love this picture because it looks like they have all partied a little too hard. Emma looks like she's about the join Tyler in a chorus of a drinking song and Brayden looks like he's still going strong.

Anxiously waiting for the train.

And this guy was being very difficult when it came to pictures. Every time I got out the camera he'd turn away. I think he thought it was a game. But as you can see, I won!

If the glass had been thinner I might have lost Steph to this arangutan! He was really digging her.

The kids were exploring everything and everywhere. They even enjoyed putting leaves down the sewer.

But everywhere we went one or both of them HAD to check the map.

After we got home the kids really liked helping to mix the dough and roll it out for the pie. And they loved decorating their pizzas to look like Jack o lanterns. I think they turned out pretty cute!

And while the pie dough chilled in the fridge, they started working on their pizzas. They're not quite ready to start flipping the dough over their heads, but almost.

They added sauce...

...and cheese...

...and their toppings.

I'm not sure whether Brayden got more toppings in his mouth...

or on his pizza! But he was a great helper.

From left to right, Emma, Brayden, & Tyler's pizzas.

And here's Emma's finished product.

After church the next morning it was time for Emma and me to head back home. I think we just barely beat the snow! Though there were still some micro blizzards I had to drive through. We got home late, and although I think she was ready for her own bed, Emma told me she missed her cousins. It was so much fun visiting. Thanks again Steph and Brian for letting us come!


Here is what happened to Emma after we got home. Poor thing was just so tired, she fell asleep!